Cracks show in Israeli leader's coalition

May 08, 2007|By Isabel Kershner, New York Times News Service

JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, survived three no-confidence votes against his government Monday, part of the political fallout from a harsh report on the country's leadership during last summer's war in Lebanon.

Olmert's governing coalition affords him a large majority in the 120-seat parliament, and the no-confidence motions were all rejected by a comfortable margin. Nevertheless, the results revealed cracks in support from parliament members belonging to the coalition: at least 16 of them were either absent, voted no confidence or abstained.

The motions were brought on the opening day of the parliament's summer session by rightist, leftist and religious opposition parties.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the rightist Likud Party, called for new elections and told the Cabinet, which has pledged to carry out the recommendations of the war report, "You are not the solution, you are the problem."

The leader of the leftist Meretz Party, Yossi Beilin, said that the lack of confidence had penetrated the public, the parliament and even Olmert's party, Kadima. Beilin told the parliament that a minister in Kadima, whom he did not identify, had told him that the prime minister "poses a national danger to Israel."

In northern Gaza on Monday, Israeli air force planes fired on a car that army officials said was laden with explosives and on its way to launch rockets into Israel. The Islamic Jihad group, which has claimed responsibility for several rocket attacks in recent days, said that two of its members escaped from the car before it was hit. Hospital officials in Gaza said that one passerby was wounded in the Israeli strike.

According to an Israeli army spokesman, 14 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Friday. One rocket hit a house next to a kindergarten in the Israeli border town of Sderot on Monday morning, but caused no injuries.